Playa del Carmen Awaits Federal Approval to Return 20,000 Tons of Sand Recovered from Sargassum

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Roughly 20,000 tons of sand separated from sargassum collected during the 2025 and 2026 seasons could be returned to Playa del Carmen’s beaches beginning in November or December, once the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) authorizes the procedure, according to Irving Rafael Lili Madrigal, director of the Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat).

Lili Madrigal said about 60,000 tons of sargassum have been collected over the two years, and part of the volume hauled to the final disposal site contains sand that was removed along with the macroalgae during cleanup operations. The material undergoes drying, sifting and treatment to separate the sand so it can be reused.

El Recodo and Playacar Among Candidate Sites

The official said the project has supporting studies and is currently awaiting Semarnat’s approval. As a result, the return of the roughly 20,000 tons remains contingent on federal authorization and cannot yet be considered approved.

Zofemat has already identified several locations that could receive the recovered material, mainly sectors of downtown Playa del Carmen. Among them is the El Recodo area, along with zones near Playacar, where officials would study reincorporating the sand into the shoreline.

If authorization is granted, the procedure could begin between November and December of this year. The strategy aims to make use of the sand that ends up mixed with sargassum during removal and return it to stretches of coastline that need material, though the final quantity and placement sites will depend on the conditions set by the federal environmental authority.